However, throughout all of this, Celtic Championship Wrestling, a Cork based promotion, has been making a lot of noise in the South of Ireland.

In The Beginning

CCW was set up just over five years ago by West Cork promoter Lee Cahalane. Cahalane’s dream was to bring live wrestling to the people of Cork. Initially, CCW relied heavily on talent from Dublin and Belfast, but as the company grew so did its roots, with the CCW Trainining Academy opening in 2013. Since then, it has spawned a number of local wrestlers, who are now wrestling for several promotions all over the country.

CCW originally set its focus on family-friendly wrestling shows, but, mut much like what happened with OTT in Dublin, the adult audience could not be ignored.

CCW Riot

Lee Cahalane and the CCW Crew began to focus on their over 18s product. Since doing so, the company and fan base has grown to incredible heights. Cahalane clearly takes inspiration from WWE’s famed “Attitude Era” when it comes to the edgier over 18s product.

With an ever expanding talent pool and every increasing production values CCW is surely showing that it is a force to be reckoned with.

Super Lariato Bros

When CCW announced the match card for their last event, all fans agreed it was a must see event. With talent from all over the world fighting along side some local heroes.

Tickets began to sell fast as the likes of WWE UK Tournament contestants Jordan Devlin and Joseph Conners were announced. Excitement continued to grow as TNA Impact star Bram and WWE NXT’s Bull Dempsey were announced.

Everyone was in agreement that this would be CCW’s best show yet. Then came another announcement.

Player 4 has Entered

A week before the show, it was announced on the CCW Facebook page that one of the most talked about indie wrestlers in the world, “The Aerial Assassin” Will Ospreay, would be appearing at the show. Ospreay would be competing for Joe Hendry’s WCPW Heavyweight Championship in a Fatal 4 Way match. This bout would also feature Jordan Devlin and Cork wrestling legend “The Role Model” Ricky Combat. This definitely excited the fans, and tickets sales shot through the roof.

Audience Reaction

The event was a resounding success. The 300-strong crowd were loud and proud throughout, with many in attendance drawing comparisons to the atmosphere of Philadephia’s famed “ECW ARENA” in the mid ’90s.

Those in attendance were definitely entertained by international and local talent alike. Local legend Ricky Combat more than held his own in a match against some of Europe’s biggest names and Cork’s own Raven Creed was crowned the first ever CCW Women’s Champion.

In the pre-show, fans enjoyed a parody of WWE Reality show “Total Divas”, from local tag team “The Armstrongs”.

Each match thrilled the crowd as the wrestlers put their bodies on the line in what was most definitely CCW’s, if not Ireland’s greatest show to date.

Irish Wretling is very much in the middle of a boom period. OTT Wrestling in Dublin, Celtic Championship Wrestling in Cork and PRO Wrestling Ulster are doing all they can to make sure that Wretling fns of all ages are entertained.